Upon first glance, this bright yet ethereal workshop looks like a real wedding! Staged in Cyprus alongside sandy beaches and sun-soaked skies, this gorgeous shoot had everything from real food to a marble wedding cake! Splendid Events took the lead planning every beautiful detail and called upon Sotiris Tsakanikas to capture it all, including bright pops of color and citrus-inspired centerpieces! Be sure to check out the video below by Oscar Studio and see the behind the scenes and how with the help of The Secret Owl this workshop came to life!
From Splendid Events…With compelling landscapes of hidden valleys, vineyard stretches of lush sandy beaches, and a host of Statesmen, international aristocracy and new Hollywood frequently alcoving, Cyprus feels almost utopian. Sun-soaked almost every month of the year and therefore saturated with colors, it has destination pretty written all over. For this very reason, when Sotiris Tsakanikas and The Secret Owl teamed up with Splendid Events we wished to present them with a multilayered suite of wedding inspiration and hail the new season in instant feel-good splashes of color and textures for days. We wished to find a vast venue which would provide us with the opportunity to set up in multiple locations, each with its own distinctive vibe and capsule backdrop and Columbia Beach Resort on Pissouri Bay was just the place. As far as wedding celebrations are concerned in Cyprus, more is more, hence our wish to bring together a sea of brands and creative teams to breathe life into this unique concept.
Swaddled by rolling hills studded with cypresses, bougainvilleas, Jacaranda and palm gardens, the day began with an elegant butterfly inspired boudoir session at the Master Suite. Maria A. Aristidou Studio created a made-to-order swathe of hand-painted butterflies and Naturae Design headpieces were matched to Leda lingerie sets for our bride. Panagiotis Assiotis worked on her early morning laid-back hairdo, and Niki Chrysanthou gave her free-abandon makeup with hues inspired from her stationery suites and our florals. And since butterflies drove much of the inspiration on site we couldn’t have chosen a pair other than the Sophia Webster signature Evangeline sandals. Letterpressed together with Nadia Hernandez designed a suite of hand-drawn invites, place cards, RSVPs, boutonnière assignments and welcome notes, weaving together tonal calligraphy and sketches of our venue in soft as moss paper, while the bride’s Kings Jewelry engagement ring and wedding bands sat pretty on The Mrs. Box Roosevelt, Paloma and Newport respectively. Wearing a second Naturae Design headband our bride slipped on her Berta gown from Primalicia and walked through the resort towards the gardens of the bay to meet her groom, dressed in a spruce grey linen suit and silk dove grey tie by Carlito, our groom stylist.
Our ultimate goal was to showcase how diverse Cyprus is and create a setup that would feature full potential. It might have sufficed to have a gorgeous venue to build on but as we like to have it here the charm is in the service. Beach weddings are usually thought of as bohemian or too laid-back, but we wished to show the luxurious side of a wedding just off the waterfront. We challenged ourselves to stay off soft pastels. Instead, we went for pops of zesty fruit — pink lady apples, pink grapefruits, and limes — uber large hot pink peonies and red protea pincushions. Drawing from the massive grey pebbles of the shore and the rocky surroundings we matched a seal grey tablecloth which contradicted the strong coral pink linens and florals.
Working with Mint Event Finds, we set up the reception table under a billowing drape gazebo with crystal chandeliers and Paige round-back dinner chairs, near the ceremonial aisle. We sourced vintage revamped pieces of candlesticks, cutlery, and dinnerware for the table set. The chandeliers used were restored from a retired al-fresco restaurant from a nearby village and the glasses belong to a 200-year private collection. Finally, we highlighted the celebration with something rarely seen on inspiration shoots. Real, delicious food.
Inspired by the famous still life painting by Severin Roesen, Pandora Catering went beyond any expectation and designed, styled and prepared an entire wedding menu buffet, laden with lavish seafood bites, lobsters, shrimp cocktails, fresh oysters, cheese and breadboards, sea-urchin soup and dragon fruit platters, mangoes, salty cakes and macaroons, finger treats and mussel canapes that not only added a magnificent punch to our inspiration but presented the way Cypriots view our celebratory art de la table.
To top it all we worked with Yiamy to couture actual edible cakes for the table as we are avid believers in treating guests with scrumptious favors. Our blue marbled wedding three-tier cake was pipped with organically grown real florals especially ordered for this purpose. Not all florals are cake appropriate and our selection not only coordinated with the rest of the blooms but was safe as was pretty. We couldn’t be more grateful for the stellar teams of vendors who made this possible and proved that Cyprus as a destination should definitely be on your summer wedding radar!
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Photography: Sotiris Tsakanikas | Cinematography: Oscar Studio | Event Planning: Splendid Events | Floral Design: Splendid Events | Wedding Dress: Berta | Cake: Yiamy | Shoes: Sophia Webster | Catering: Pandora Catering | Makeup : Niki Chrysanthou | Hair: Panayiotis Assiotis | Men's Attire: Carlitos Mens Boutique | Butterflies: Ma_aris | Chandeliers: Jamie L. Stout Photography | Editorial: Setty Blade | Hair Pieces: Naturae Design | Hotel Resort: Columbia Resort Hotel | Invitations & Stationery: Letterpressed | Lingerie: Pavlina Underwear | Rentals : Mint Event Finds